Tag Archives: Zucchini

Crispy Calamari with Peroni-battered Zucchini Fries

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It’s the first day of Summer in the Southern hemisphere!

What better way to celebrate than a platter of golden calamari rings and crunchy zucchini fries? And Peroni, of course!

As it happens most years, it’s a cloudy, windy and slightly chilly day today, nevertheless it is summer indeed and I can see that in the abundance of berry-red hibiscus and creamy frangipani flowers, blooming and claiming their spot in the (pale!) sun.

So, slap on your sun-block, your designer shades and your bikini or budgie-smugglers*(..on second thoughts, better with board-shorts) and enjoy the long-awaited summer season!

INGREDIENTS , for the Calamari

3 medium, fresh, squids (thawed squid will yield a rubbery calamari ring, don’t go there)

1 cup of plain flour well seasoned with salt and black pepper

2 cups of sunflower oil for deep-frying.

Get your fish-monger to clean the squid for you, if you can. All you need for this recipe are the tentacles and the tubes.

If your fish-monger can’t be asked (this is the case if you live in Sydney…), follow these simple steps here to D.I.Y (do it yourself!).

Rinse your tubes and tentacles, dry them in kitchen paper and, using a very sharp knife, cut the tubes into rings. Toss the rings and the tentacles into the seasoned flour.

Heat up the oil and gently toss in the squid. Cook for about 2 minutes, then drain on kitchen paper.

Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon and serve with a caper and garlic Aioli.

INGREDIENTS for the zucchini fries

3 medium-sized zucchini

1 330ml bottle/can of beer (I used Peroni, but you can use whatever blond beer you get your hands on)

1 cup of self-raising flour

Oil for deep-frying

Cut the zucchini into strips and dry with kitchen paper.

In a large bowl mix the flour and the beer, leaving some lumps and making sure to have a “pancake batter” consistency, not too liquid, not too stiff.

Drop your zucchini strips in the batter and then in the hot oil, deep-fry until golden, drain on kitchen paper and serve while still hot.

*Term used to describe the very brief swimming brieves worn by male swimming athletes, but, alas, unfortunately, also occasionally employed by all male shapes and sizes at Australian surf beaches…

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Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

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As I post this recipe, I cannot help but feeling aware of the fact the other half of the globe is enduring the autumnal cold weather knowing there will be another 5 months before they can come near anything like this…

But, on the other hand, I must not forget my fellow antipodean dwellers and together we must celebrate the sought-after arrival of spring.

What better way than a couple of crispy, stuffed baby zucchini and a cold beer to honour Mother Nature?

I can safely predict that my zucchini crop will be abundant and rich this year and that this is only the first of many zucchini-related  posts.

Please bear with me, there will be plenty!

To stuff your flowers, proceed like so:

Gently open out the petals to reveal the yellow stems. Remove the stems and discard.

Rinse your flowers well and drain on kitchen paper. Stuff with a couple of pieces of mozzarella, 1 anchovy fillet, a couple of baby capers, and a mix of chopped up mint, basil, parsley and lemon zest. Gently twist the petals to enclose the filling.

In a large pot, heat up 1 lt (4 cups) of frying oil or, for added flavour, olive oil.

In the meantime, make your batter by mixing 2 cups of self-raising flour and 250 ml (3/4 of a can) of cold beer. Quickly stir it with a chopstick, leaving some lumps for extra texture.

Drop the stuffed flowers into the batter, and then gently into the hot oil. Deep-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, than drain on kitchen paper.

Serve while still hot preferably with a cold beer.

You can use the left-over batter to deep-fry parsley and sage leaves and even lemon slices, a southern Italian delicacy.

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